Greensleeves
by Prioris
Summary: A "Special Effects" one-shot. After defeating the Reapers, Jane Shepard returns home to several large surprises - and one very small one.


Greensleeves  
a "Special Effects" one-shot

Disclaimer: The characters and situations of the _Mass Effect_ universe belong to EA and Bioware. I don't own them, and I am not profiting from their use. Attack lawyers may be checked at the bar; they'll be returned when you leave...

Foreword: I decided to give this its own posting since it was a little too long for _Special Effects._ Nonetheless, it's set in the same universe, and featuring the same major pairing (Shepard/Liara). Sadly, FF Net's rules don't allow me to rate it K+, although there's no language or violence, and two kisses and a hint for romance.

* * *

_In which Shepard returns home to several large surprises - and one very small one.  
_

_

* * *

_"_Logged: the commanding officer is ashore. XO Pressly has the deck."_

As her boots hit the landing pier, Captain Jane Shepard reflected that she'd never been so happy to see the Citadel. Even if this particular landing did come with brass bands and fireworks, which she generally detested.

"Welcome home, Captain," David Anderson said, stepping forward from the line of dignitaries waiting to welcome her as she approached the docking area elevator. Shepard noted with some amusement that the job of representing humanity to the Citadel Council apparently agreed with him; he'd never been a small man, but standing there in his civilian formal wear, he looked positively portly.

"Thank you, sir," she replied softly. The long years spent alone hunting the depths of dark space, bracketed by a two-year stint of cryostasis on either end, had left her voice somewhat rusty from disuse. "It's good to be home."

"We received your report on the destruction of the Reaper fleets. Needless to say, every government in Citadel Space is fighting to see who can grant you the most honors. Frankly, I don't think any of them thought it was possible."

"It's amazing how quickly an immortal, invincible pinnacle of synthetic evolution goes down when it's out of fuel and stuck in dark space," the Spectre quipped, although her smirk didn't quite reach her eyes.

Anderson laughed at that. "I can only imagine. Come on, let's get out of here."

Shepard thought that was the best idea she'd heard all day.

"There's to be a little reception in your honor up in the Presidium," Anderson said as they stood in the elevator. Off Shepard's disgusted reaction, he clarified, "It won't be anything formal. A few Alliance brass will be there, but most of the other attendees are former _Normandy_ crew. Detective Sergeant Vakarian, Operations Chief Williams, a few others. Oh, and Dr. T'Soni said she would be a bit delayed. Something about an academic conference."

Shepard's voice grew hoarse again, but this time for a very different reason. "How is she?"

Anderson chuckled at that, as the elevator doors opened. "I dare say you're in for quite a surprise."

The Spectre did not reply, lost in memories of another time.

* * *

_"Shepard, is that you?" Liara's voice floated through the apartment. "Since you are home early, I thought..." Stepping into the bedroom, she trailed off in mid-sentence as she took in Shepard's hardsuit and the duffel bag slung over her shoulder. "Oh. You are not home early."_

_The Spectre shook her head no. "Just stopping for a few things. The Council has a new mission for me. They want me to take the __Normandy out into dark space and hunt down the rest of the Reaper fleet, while they're still dormant. They figure we have a few years, maybe less, before the Reapers figure out their sentinel is space dust and come looking for payback. And who better to head that off than someone who's already done it before, or so Captain Anderson said."_

_Liara turned a bit pale at that, but managed to keep her composure. "How long?"_

_"It'll be a while. Five years at a minimum – it's two and a half out to dark space, even at __Normandy's full FTL speed. Add to that however long it takes us to find and dismantle the Reaper fleet, and..." The Spectre shrugged, drawing a deep breath. "And we may not return at all. Navigational miscues, a drive failure, a ticked-off Reaper. Who knows."_

_"And you must go alone?" the asari queried._

_Shepard nodded sadly. "I'll have a squad of Marines aboard in cryo pods in case we have to make a planetary landing or board a Reaper vessel, but otherwise it's just me and a skeleton crew – namely Joker, Adams and Pressly. The entire ship will be packed to the overheads with supplies, so there just won't be room for more."_

_"Then I will wait for you," Liara said quietly._

_"You don't have to promise me anything, Liara," Shepard said, trying to let the other woman off as gently as possible. "A lot can happen in five years."_

_"Five years is hardly an eye's blink to my species," Liara replied. "And it will pass all the faster since I know you will be coming back."_

_"Liara, you don't know how much that means to me, but it may not be that simple--"_

_"Shepard, I know you are trying to spare my feelings, but as I told you once before, I don't need to be protected," Liara interrupted, laying both hands on Shepard's shoulders and staring deeply into her eyes. "You will go destroy the Reapers, and I will stay here with my research, and I will wait for my entire lifetime if that's what it takes. I chose you to join with, Shepard. I don't want any other."_

_They kissed for what felt like eternity, slow and bittersweet. Minds, bodies and souls joined as they lost themselves in each other, each trying to memorize the other's touch, to keep some small piece of their union as a comfort against the impending separation.  
_

_It might have been minutes or hours later when they finally broke apart, Shepard with tears glimmering in the corners of her eyes. "I have to go," she whispered, stroking her lover's cheek with a trembling hand._

_"Farewell, Shepard," Liara replied in the same hushed tone. "When you come back – and you __will come back – you will know where to find me."_

That had been just over eight years ago.

* * *

Twenty minutes into the reception, Shepard was all but climbing the walls. Anderson had been true to his word about the guest list, and she had greatly enjoyed the chance to catch up with Garrus, Ashley and Dr. Chakwas, but she simply didn't care for parties in general. Worse, though, was the constant hovering presence of the handful of flag officers and diplomats, all of whom were continually falling all over themselves for a moment of the famous hero's time. To someone who had spent the last eight years all but alone, it was culture shock at its finest, and Shepard wanted nothing more than to find some quiet corner where she could readjust in solitude.

Garrus' distinctive flanged-sounding voice cut through the background chatter like a laser, but the voice that answered him drew Shepard's attention: cool soprano, carefully precise diction. "It is a pleasure to see you again. I trust you are well?"

Shepard turned to look, and it seemed to her that the temperature of the room jumped ten degrees as her breath caught in her chest. The most beautiful creature she'd ever seen had entered the room, clad in a high-necked white jacket and charcoal slacks, which set off her azure complexion to perfect advantage. The youthful, almost baby-faced features Shepard remembered so fondly had sharpened into a much more focused, adult beauty, although her blue eyes remained as gentle as ever.

"Liara," she managed to whisper around the lump in her throat, and then the asari was in her arms again, and nothing else mattered in the universe.

"Shepard," Liara murmured against the Spectre's neck, clinging to her for just a few moments longer than propriety demanded. "Oh, how I have missed you."

"Same here," Shepard agreed softly. With a final squeeze, she released Liara to arm's length. "How have you been? You're looking great."

Liara ducked her head shyly at the compliment. "I accepted a teaching position at the Citadel University several years ago. Prothean archaeology, of course. I must admit that academia is not nearly as fun as galactic exploration, although I do still lead field expeditions from time to time. As for--"

"Captain! Captain Shepard, could I borrow you for a moment?" a diplomat interrupted, approaching Shepard with an obviously plastic smile. "Admiral Midori and I wanted to ask your opinion on--"

"In a minute," Shepard cut him off. She glanced around the room, an annoyed expression crossing her face, as she returned her attention to Liara. "Pity this is such a poor place to catch up. Perhaps I could take you out to dinner and we can do this properly."

"That would be lovely. I am free any night this week."

"Then I'll pick you up tomorrow at 1800 hours," Shepard replied with a relieved, almost giddy expression, which Liara returned.

"I will look forward to it. I must ask you a favor, though: would you mind terribly if I brought a guest? She's heard so much about you, and would love to meet you in person."

The words twisted in Shepard's gut like a knife, as her previous elation abruptly fled. She forced her face into a semblance of tranquility. "I see," she said finally, wondering if the words sounded as flat and hollow as she felt saying them. "Please don't feel obligated, Liara. I don't want to intrude on your life--"

"What? Oh, no!" The asari raised a hand to her mouth, appalled. "No, I'm sorry, I only meant that – oh, I see I'm as bad at this as I ever was. The guest in question is my daughter." With a shrug and a sheepish smile, she concluded, "I feel foolish that I don't have an image of her with me at the moment; I did not think to bring an omni-tool with me tonight..."

"Your daughter," Shepard said softly, as a corrosive mix of heartache and jealousy seethed within her chest. She had never expected Liara to wait for her, all farewell promises to the contrary, but to find that she had not only taken another lover, but borne a child by him... "I had no idea. Congratulations. How old is she?"

"She's seven and a half now."

_So much for waiting a lifetime, she must have grabbed the first available guy the minute I left,_ Shepard thought as she did the math in her head_._ "Her father in the picture?" she asked carefully.

Liara shook her head no. "Her second parent left on an extended deep-space mission shortly before I learned I was expecting. We've not seen each other since. I have raised Solaia alone so far, although I hope that one day we will be together as a family."

_Well, this is what you wanted, eh Shep?_ the Spectre thought, as that sick feeling bubbled up again. _Clearly she moved on, just like you asked. Better you find out about it now._

"I see," she finally said. With forced levity, she added, "If the guy ever does come back, remind me to kick his butt up between his ears. What kind of a heel runs off to the galactic boonies and leaves a kid behind?"

* * *

The next evening at 1800 hours precisely, Shepard stood outside the door of a mid-level apartment building in the Upper Wards, suffocating in a brand-new set of dress blues and struggling mightily against the urge to flee. All day long, her fingers had itched to reach for the communicator and call this dinner off. As she had discovered to her utter discomfiture, releasing one's lover from her obligations and then seeing the living, breathing results of that release were two entirely different things. Simply put, she didn't trust herself to maintain her composure between the two of them.

And yet, she reached for the door chime anyway, stepping back to stand at ease on the threshold. If nothing else, the rules of etiquette were absolute.

Liara answered the door a moment later, dressed in a bathrobe and clutching a hand towel. "Hello, Shepard. Please come in. I apologize for my tardiness; staff meetings at the university ran far later than I anticipated..."

"She just got home like maybe three seconds ago, and she's been running around like a looney! 'I don't know what to wear, I have to clean up, go wash your face and put your new dress on...'" a child's voice piped from the living room.

"Not nice to tease your mother, little one," Liara chided gently. "Solaia, come here. I'd like you to meet a very special friend of mine. This is Captain Jane Shepard of the Spectres."

The owner of the voice appeared from behind the couch a second later. "Pleased to meet you," she said, rendering a dainty little bow.

"Likewise," Shepard replied, as she studied the girl unobtrusively. Solaia's facial features rather resembled Liara's, which was to be expected given the nature of asari reproduction, but Shepard was more intrigued by her startlingly green eyes and the unusual peach-colored shading along her forehead and crest. She had never seen those particular eye or skin colors on an asari before. She found herself wondering what species the girl's father might have been, and then closed off that train of thought with a mental snap.

"Mother talks about you all the time," Solaia continued, oblivious to Shepard's scrutiny. "How you saved the Citadel and killed all the Reapers. Is it really true you flew across the galaxy in a planet rover? And threw geth off the Citadel Tower with your bare hands? Keras Belavian, he's this turian boy in my class at school, he says you punched Saren right in the mandibles and killed him with one shot, BANG, and then Sovereign tried to stomp on you but you just jumped over it laughing, and then you walked out of the Council Chamber with your gun in one hand and..."

"One question at a time, please," Shepard said with a half-laugh, holding her hands up in surrender. "And anyway, your mother's probably told you the story a hundred times. She was there too, you know."

"Solaia, would you like to show Captain Shepard your school project?" Liara said, retreating toward the bedroom. "She is working on a report about the Citadel fleet. I will finish dressing; I'll only be a few moments more."

"Mother always takes ages to get ready when we go to fancy places," Solaia commented, with the utter lack of guile common to children of all species. "Fussing with dresses and make-up and jewelry and all that. I don't get it."

"Me neither, kiddo," Shepard said, tugging self-consciously at the stock collar of her uniform tunic. "In the Navy you only get two choices, working blue and dress blue. I can't remember the last time I had to pick out an outfit to wear."

Solaia grinned at that. "I like you. You're funny. Hey, want to see my omni-tool? It's just a little kid model, but I made it myself. Uncle Garrus helped me with it."

_Uncle Garrus?_ Shepard thought with some surprise. Apparently Liara had remained closer to the rest of the _Normandy_ crew than Shepard might have thought, given how shy she had been back in those days. Tucking that thought away for another time, she picked up the device and scrutinized it. As the child had said, its functions were quite limited, but it would serve for basic communication and a few home repair tasks. "Pretty nice work. You like science, Solaia?"

"Uh-huh, but I like current events more," the girl replied, putting the tool back in its storage box. "Wait till I tell the other kids I got to meet a real Spectre. Keras is going to be so jealous. Hey, maybe I can take you to show and tell sometime! I bet--"

Entering the room silently, Liara watched the pair for several moments, a mysterious, yet contented smile spreading across her face. "I see you two have become friends."

"She's a hoot," the Spectre replied, smiling in return. "Takes after you, that's for sure."

"It's strange that you say that, Shepard. To me, at least, it seems that she has very little of my personality. She's much more headstrong, determined - much more like her second parent. I dare say that the resemblance between them goes much further than the skin."

Shepard flinched just a fraction at the mention of Solaia's father, but covered it with another smile. "So, ladies, are we ready?"

* * *

"Thank you both for a lovely evening," Shepard said as they returned to the apartment after a quiet dinner at one of the Upper Wards' nicer restaurants.

"I had a wonderful time as well," Liara agreed. "You'll stay for a moment, I hope. There are some things I must discuss with you. Solaia, you need to go put your pajamas on and brush your teeth, it's bedtime."

"But how come you and Captain Shepard get to stay up and I don't?" Solaia grumbled.

"Because we are adults and you are not. Go."

Reluctantly, Solaia did as she was told, but she paused for a moment in the hallway. "Night, Captain Shepard. Tonight was fun. You'll come back again sometime, right?"

Shepard paused for a moment, and then nodded yes. "Goodnight, Solaia. Pleasant dreams."

Poking her head through the kitchen doorway, Liara added, "One minute and I will come to tuck you in. Shepard, would you like something to drink? I put water on for tea, but if you'd like something stronger--"

"No, tea is fine, thanks." She rarely drank anyway, and the last thing either of them needed was for her to commit an intoxicated slip of the tongue. Instead, she parked herself on the sofa, her eyes drifting aimlessly over the room's contents while she tried to untangle the twisted knots of her thoughts.

Liara returned a few moments later, stopping to fetch a teapot and two cups from the kitchen. "It still seems so incredible that you are back," she said softly, sitting next to Shepard on the sofa. "Every day you were gone, I wondered if this might be the day you would return. When Councilor Anderson called me and told me that you were on your way back to the Citadel, I could hardly believe my ears."

Shepard's reply was a thin, bitter quirk of the lip, nothing that could be called an actual smile.

"And then, the idea that the Reapers are conquered once and for all... once the news leaked out that your mission had been a success, the Citadel became a single, nonstop celebration. The newsfeeds make it sound like something from an old action film. Great space battles, boarding the Reaper vessels and fighting hand to hand." Liara shrugged a bit, offering a lopsided smile. "I am sure it was not as glamorous as all that, but I am curious to hear the true story."

"It was far easier than anyone wants to believe, really. They were just floating there, no power, no shields, just sitting targets. It was the number of 'em that was the problem. Hundreds upon hundreds of thousands. I ran out of ammunition for the _Normandy_'s main gun by the end of the first year. It got to the point where I was stripping Reaper hulks for eezo and forging my own slugs from melted-down Reaper parts." Shepard looked away, searching for an excuse to change the subject. The topic of the Reaper hunt was still too fresh in her mind. "Enough about me. What about this teaching position of yours?"

They talked quietly for the better part of an hour, before nature forced Shepard to call a halt to the conversation. "Excuse me," she said, standing and making her way back into the rear of the apartment. "Back in a moment."

Washing her hands afterward, Shepard examined her reflection critically. She had to admit, she didn't look half bad for a human approaching forty. Thanks to the Navy's daily PT regimen, she still retained the build of a much younger woman, and if her hair shaded toward ash blonde these days, it matched well with her green eyes and pale complexion.

And then the realization hit her like a slug between the eyes, as she stared into the mirror.

_Asari children take on the appearance of the second parent._

Shepard stumbled out of the bathroom on rubbery legs. Through a mouth gone dry, she choked out, "Liara. Solaia's father. Who?"

Liara just smiled in reply. "You, Shepard."

Shepard dropped heavily onto the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. "Eight years. She's seven and a half. Of course." The memory of their last few moments together before her departure rose to the forefront of her mind. Apparently that night had been special in more ways than one.

"I sense this troubles you," Liara said, sitting next to her and taking the other woman's hand between her own. "Would you like to tell me about it?"

"Well, how about we start with the part where I feel like the galaxy's biggest tosser for leaving a pregnant girl behind while I went gallivanting all over dark space?" she said bitterly.

"I must admit, I did wonder how you planned to, as you said, kick your own posterior up between your ears," Liara replied, a teasing note in her voice. "In all truth, though, you couldn't have known. For that matter, neither did I until about three weeks after you left."

"Oh God, Liara, I'm so sorry." The Spectre buried her head in her hands, half folded over in her seat. "And you had to go through that alone... probably thought your daughter would never have a father..."

"Shepard, stop. Didn't I tell you I generally don't need protecting? We asari have been raising children alone for millennia. There's no stigma to single motherhood among our species, as there is with yours. And as for Solaia lacking parents, I knew perfectly well who her dame was. Even if you never returned, I would always have part of you with me – your memories, and your child."

"And when were you going to tell me?" Shepard pressed.

"Now, actually. I could not say anything at the reception last night, nor could I this evening with Solaia listening in."

"So I'm the last one to know, eh?" The words came out with more rancor than she'd intended, and she swallowed back a pang of regret as she saw the hurt flickering in Liara's eyes.

"No, you are the first. I have told no one else about Solaia's parentage. I am sure some people suspect, but I decided when I learned I was expecting that I would not make that information known until I had a chance to inform you, or unless... unless I received official word that your mission had... come to an undesirable end."

Shepard digested that quietly, knotting her hands in her lap.

"I know this is a lot for you to take in. Are you all right?"

"What do you want from me, Liara?"

The asari's gentle caress of Shepard's forearm never faltered. "That is up to you," she said quietly. "I meant what I said back at the reception. We would both like nothing better than to have you join our lives. But, I know that the fathers of human children do not always remain with their offspring, and I would never compel you to stay with us against your will."

Shepard shook her head forcefully. "No, that's not up for debate. I'll call the Personnel Bureau first thing in the morning and have you two registered as my dependents. I will support you both with every resource I have. What I'm afraid of is that I might not be able to be anything other than a support. Or that you might not want me to be." With a bleak expression, she continued, "I haven't the first clue how to be a parent, Liara. My family died in the raid on Mindoir, and from age eighteen on, the Navy was my family. Not exactly the healthiest upbringing. Besides, I can be deployed anywhere in the galaxy on a moment's notice, and the regs are ironclad: no dependents on Alliance vessels. I won't be able to take either of you with me, and we could be separated for weeks or months at a time. Plus, there's always the risk that I'll be wounded or killed on deployment. It's bad enough that I sired a child out of wedlock; I would never be able to live with myself if I wound up leaving a widow and an orphan too."

"Of course you wouldn't be able to live with yourself. For you to leave a widow would, by definition, require you to perish," Liara teased gently. "As for the future bereaved family you are berating yourself for creating, Shepard, you keep forgetting that barring a catastrophic accident, it is a certainty that Solaia and I will both outlive you by many centuries. We would rather focus on the time we have with you, rather than dwell on the inevitability of loss."

"And what about my complete lack of parent qualifications?"

"I believe you are far better qualified than you think, and I knew that from the first day that I met you. You are honorable, kind, courageous, compassionate; most importantly, you will accept nothing less than the complete well-being of those you care for. I can think of no better trait for a parent than that. Moreover, I have never known you to back away from a challenge. If parenthood is what you desire, I have no doubt that you will succeed at it, and that you will stop at nothing until you do."

"Amazing," Shepard murmured, with a nervous half-smile. "Saving trillions of people from the Reapers is no problem, but put me in charge of a seven-year-old's upbringing and I panic. So you really think I'm up to this, huh?"

"Of course," Liara replied. "I am reminded of something Ashley Williams told me once: if you think yourself incapable or unskilled at some task, you will not improve your skills by avoiding it. Or, to use the human idiom, there is but one way to find out."

_That's an understatement,_ Shepard thought with a mental chuckle. Drawing a deep breath, she said, "Then I'm staying. For as long as you want me."

Liara said nothing, but she didn't have to; the elated smile that broke across her face said far more than any words.

If Shepard wanted to be completely honest with herself, there had never been any real doubt about her decision, if for no other reason than her sense of honor would not allow her to abandon the child she had helped create. Nevertheless, as she leaned back into the couch cushions, a dizzying feeling of relief and joy swept over her, along with other emotions long buried and now rising to the surface.

Hesitantly, she asked, "May I touch you?"

Liara just looked at her in reply, with the same shy, yet welcoming expression she had worn on that night eight years ago. "I thought you would never ask."

That kiss, the first after so many years apart, was tentative, delicate and utterly intoxicating. Liara's fingers were tangled in Shepard's hair as she traced the asari's lower lip, and the faint moan of desire that her actions provoked shot liquid fire through her nerves. She sprawled sideways and backward against the cushions, pulling Liara down atop her, desperate to feel more of that warm, soft body against her own, as delicate hands worked over the closures of her dress tunic--

"Ew. Mushy stuff."

Shepard nearly jumped out of her skin, bolting upright and looking frantically around the room for the source of the voice, as Liara pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "You're supposed to be asleep, little one."

Solaia pulled a disgusted face. "I know, but I got up for a drink of water and you two were still out here talking, and then you started getting all kissy 'n stuff."

"How much did you overhear?" Shepard asked carefully.

"The part where Mother said you're my other parent, and you said you didn't know if you could be a good one or not, but you're gonna stay with us anyway." The child regarded Shepard with a hopeful smile. "I'm really glad."

"So am I, kiddo," Shepard said with a grin, and somewhat to her surprise, she found that she meant it. Picking Solaia up and affectionately tweaking her nose, she continued, "Now, maybe you can help me with Parent 101: What to do when your child stays up way past her bedtime on a school night."

"I know! Stay up later?"

"Nice try, but no."

"Darn."

* * *

Author's Notes: No doubt you'll all need to brush your teeth after that massive dose of sweet-n-fluffy at the end...

Inspired by "Motherhood" by Wolf-Shadow, over at DeviantArt. Go check her stuff out. I wish I had that kind of artistic talent.

Although at 114 years old, Liara does make a shockingly young mother for an asari, it's quite possible given the information provided in-game on asari reproduction. In any case, the stages of Maiden, Matron and Matriarch appear to be based more on maturity and experience rather than numerical age, and Liara does appear to be wise beyond her years in some matters, though not so much in the social realm.

Several readers have commented that Shepard must be truly thick-headed not to have twigged to the possibility of Solaia being her child long before Liara's reveal of the same. Shep's ignorance might be a little more understandable if you consider that she's looking at things from the human female's paradigm - the one who'd assume she would accidentally become pregnant, not accidentally impregnate someone else. Hence, when she hears that Liara has a daughter, she automatically assumes that there must have been another _man_ in the picture - she's still thinking of their relationship like a human same-sex relationship. Even though she knows intellectually that asari can reproduce with anyone, it doesn't really sink in for her until that scene that they'd basically been having what amounted to unprotected sex all along. On the other side, you have the fact that Liara had zero previous experience with joining prior to her relationship with Shepard, and hence might not have known when to get out of Shepard's mind, particularly in an emotionally charged moment when she's just been confronted with the possibility of Shepard never coming home. Taken together, you have the asari version of a birth control failure. (I even toyed with the idea of setting the "main event" before Ilos, and it was that way in the first draft, but I decided that was a little too cliche.)

"Greensleeves" is perhaps best known as the tune to which the Christmas carol "What Child Is This" is set. The lyrics struck me as particularly appropriate, given the subject of the piece. The details of the Reaper extermination are deliberately left as vague as possible, largely because I didn't want to set up a conflict with the future plot of _Mass Effect 2._

Thank you all for reading, and may your holidays be peaceful and joyous.

_Edited 2/9/10 to clarify a few points on Shepard's actions. Thanks to those who commented, including BuckyKatt11 and kitsilver._


End file.
